IIT JEE results: OBC candidates break quota barrier

Chinthakindi Sai Chetan, the all-India second rank holder of JEE Advance 2014, with his mother at a felicitation function in Hyderabad. (PTI)

SummaryIn all, 6,028 OBCs have qualified JEE-Advanced exam of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

CANDIDATES from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) have broken the reservation barrier in IIT-JEE this year — 4,085 have made it to the common merit list, that is without any relaxation, as against 2,641 seats available for them. In all, 6,028 OBCs have qualified the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE-Advanced) of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

This year, the joint implementation committee of JEE (Advanced) has decided to allow twice the number in each category to fill choices. Overall, 19,416 candidates have made it to common merit list.

Across IITs, 27 per cent seats are reserved for OBC, 15 per cent for Scheduled Caste (SC) and 7.5 per cent for Scheduled Tribe (ST) category candidates. For the common merit list, candidates had to score at least 10 per cent in each subject and 35 per cent in aggregate. To be in the OBC list, candidates had to secure at least 9 per cent in each subject and 31.5 per cent in aggregate, that is, 10 per cent relaxation from the aggregate of common merit list. Similarly, for the SC and ST ranking lists, students had to score five per cent in each subject and 17.5 per cent in the aggregate (50 per cent relaxation from the common merit list aggregate).

While each year, some reserved category students make it to the common merit list, many use the score relaxation offered to them to better their ranks or opt for a “perceived” attractive course.

An almost equal number of OBC (46,350) and general category (49,357) students had registered to appear for the exam this year.

Last year too, more OBC candidates or 4,183 had qualified as compared to the number of seats available (2,599). The number of OBCs who made it to the common merit list, however, was only 1,145.

Yet again, seats reserved SC and ST candidates will be filled up from the word go. More students in both categories have qualified as compared to the number of seats available. All the IITs conduct a one-year preparatory course for SC/ST candidates and for students with physical disabilities who do not make it to the common or the reserved category merit lists.